CHAPTER 9

X-RAY EMISSION

X-RAY QUANTITY X-ray Quantity & Distance

 X-ray quantity is inversely proportional to
X-ray Intensity the square of the distance from the source
 Units: R, mR & mGya  Inverse Square Law: I1/I2 = (SID2/SID1)2
 Other Name: x-ray quantity or radiation
exposure When SID is increased, mAs must be
increased by SID2 to maintain constant
Roentgen exposure to the image receptor!
 A measure of the number of ion pairs
produced in air by a quantity of x-rays
 SI Unit: mGya mAs & SID
 Exposure Rate: mR/s, mR/min or mR/mAs  Square Law: mAs1/mAs2 = (SID1/SID2)2

Filtration
X-ray quantity is the number of x-rays in the  Beam hardening
useful beam!
 Purpose: to reduce the number of low-
energy x-rays
FACTORS THAT AFFECT X-RAY  Advantages: increased beam quality &
QUANTITY & IMAGE RECEPTOR reduces patient dose
Image  Disadvantage: reduced image contrast
The Effect of X-ray
Receptor
Increasing Quantity Is
Exposure Is X-RAY QUALITY
Increased
mAs Increased
proportionately X-ray Quality
Increased by  The penetrability of an x-ray beam
kVp Increased
(kVp1/kVp2)2  It is measured in HVL
Reduced by
Distance Reduced
(d2/d1)2 Penetrability
Filtration Reduced Reduced  The ability of x-rays to pass through tissue

X-ray Quantity & mAs High Quality X-rays

 X-ray quantity is proportional to the mAs  X-ray with high penetrability
 Formula: I1/I2 = mAs1/mAs2
 mAs: mA x s = mC/s x s = mC Low Quality X-rays
 1 C: 6.25 x 1018 electrons  X-ray with low penetrability

X-ray Quantity & kVp Half-Value Layer

 X-ray quantity is proportional to kVp2  The thickness of absorbing material
 Formula: I1/I2 = (kVp1/kVp2)2 necessary to reduce the x-ray intensity to
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 40% Increased in kVp: doubling the half of its original value

intensity  A characteristic of the useful beam
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 15% Increased in kVp: reduction of ½ in  Diagnostic X-ray Range: 3-5 mm Al or 3-6

mAs cm of soft tissue
o Disadvantage: reduced image
contrast HVL is the best method for specifying x-ray
quality!

STEWART C. BUSHONG SUMMARIZED BY: MEYNARD Y. CASTRO

 CHAPTER 9
X-RAY EMISSION

Attenuation Inherent Filtration

 The reduction in x-ray intensity that results  Locations: x-ray tube glass/metal enclosure
from absorption & scattering & window
 Equivalent: 0.5 mm Al
Determining Half-Value Layer
 3 Principal Parts: x-ray tube, radiation Mammography
detector & graded thicknesses of filter (Al)  Window: beryllium (Z=4)
 Steps:  Equivalent: 0.1 mm Al
o A radiation measurement is made
with no filter between x-ray tube & Added Filtration
the detector  Locations: x-ray tube housing & x-ray beam
o Measurements of radiation are made collimators
for successively thicker sections of  Equivalent: 1 mm Al (port of x-ray tube) &
filter 1 mm Al (collimators)
o The thickness of filtration that
reduces the intensity to half of its Total Filtration
original value is the HVL  2.5 mm Al
 Inherent Filtration: 0.5 mm Al
X-ray beam quality can be identified by voltage  Added Filter: 1 mm Al
or filtration, but HVL is most appropriate!  Mirror: 1 mm Al

Compensating Filter
FACTORS THAT AFFECT X-RAY QUALITY  Material inserted between an x-ray source &
& X-RAY QUANTITY a patient to shape the intensity of the x-ray
EFFECT ON beam
An Increased X-ray  It is designed to make the remnant beam
X-ray Quality more uniform in intensity
in Quantity
mAs None Increased  Examples: wedge filter, trough filter, bow-
kVp Increased Increased tie filter & conic filter
Distance None Reduced
Filtration Increased Reduced Wedge Filter
 It is used for examination of the foot
X-ray Quality & kVp
 Increasing the kVp peak increases the Trough Filter
quality of an x-ray beam  A bilateral wedge filter
 It is used in chest radiography
X-ray Quality & Filtration
 Increasing the filtration increases the quality Bow-Tie Filter
of an x-ray beam but decreases the x-ray  It is used with CT imaging systems to
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quantity compensate for the shape of the head or

 Filter Materials: aluminum (Z=13), copper body
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(Z=29), tin (Z=50), gadolinium (Z=64) &

holmium (Z=67) Conic Filter
 It is used in digital fluoroscopy
Types of Filtration
 Inherent & Added Filtration
STEWART C. BUSHONG SUMMARIZED BY: MEYNARD Y. CASTRO
 CHAPTER 9
X-RAY EMISSION

Step-Wedge Filter
 An adaptation of the wedge filter
 It is used in some special procedures,
usually when long sections of the anatomy
are imaged

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STEWART C. BUSHONG SUMMARIZED BY: MEYNARD Y. CASTRO